THE FIRST AMERICANS

1. THE FIRST AMERICANS

2. A long time ago, North America was very different from the way it is today. There were no cars, highways, or cities. There were no restaurants, movie theaters, malls, or even grocery stores.

3. However, people still lived in communities. (Remember, a community is where a group of people work, live, and have fun together.) A long, long time ago, the people in the communities made their own homes, food, and clothing from the plants and animals they found around them.

4. These first Americans descended, or came, from Asia. These were the first people to live in North America. That is why we call them Native Americans. These people have lived in North America for thousands of years, and there are still Indian communities today.

5. In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed from Europe to find an easier route to Asia. He sailed west across the Atlantic Ocean hoping to find India. However, there was land in his way that he and other European explorers did not know existed. He and his crew had landed in the Bahamas. However, Columbus was convinced that he had landed in India and referred to the people he met as Indians. These people were not Indians. They were Americans. They were the Native or original Americans. Because Columbus had told so many people about the Indians, the Native Americans are often called Indians even to this day.

6. Many different Native American groups lived in North America. Each group had its own language and customs. A custom is the special way a group of people does something.

7. Several groups of Native Americans often shared the same CULTURE. A culture is the way of life of a group of people. Every group of people, including yours, has a culture. The language you speak, the clothes you wear, the food you eat, and the religion you believe in are all part of your culture.

8. According to this map, there are 5 different cultures of Native Americans: Northwest Coast, California-Intermountain, Southwest, Plains, and Eastern Woodlands. We will discuss the Plains and Eastern Woodlands Indian cultures.

9. The Plains Tribes

10. The Plains tribes lived in the area of our country known as the Great Plains. The Plains Natives included tribes such as the Sioux, Cheyenne, Crow, Blackfeet, Comanche, and Pawnee.

11. The Great Plains region was made up of grasslands, valleys, streams, and hills. There were very few trees found in the Great Plains area.  The photo shown below is an example of the land within the Great Plains region.

12. The buffalo was the most important natural resource of the Plains tribes. These Natives were hunters. They hunted many kinds of animals, but it was the buffalo which provided them with all of their basic needs: food, clothing, and shelter.

13. There were several ways to hunt the buffalo. One way was for the Natives to ride on horseback into the herd- and use bows and arrows to kill the buffalo. Another way was for a large group of Natives on horseback to chase the buffalo off a cliff. An unusual way some tribes hunted the buffalo was to sneak up on the buffalo with wolf skins covering their bodies, then killing them with bows and arrows. As soon as the hunt was over, the women and children would join the warriors to cut up the buffalo to bring back to camp. At this time it was considered a real treat to eat the heart, liver, kidneys, and brain while they were still warm.

14. The skin of the buffalo was used for clothing and shelter. Before the skin or hide of the buffalo could be used, it had to be treated. The hide was then used as the outer covering of the tepee. It was also decorated with beads, porcupine quills, and feathers to be worn as clothing by the Plains people.

15. No part of the buffalo went to waste. The horns were used as spoons, cups, and toys. The bones were used as tools and weapons. The tail was used as a fly brush or whip. The stomach and intestines were cleaned and then used to carry water. Plains tribes ONLY killed what was needed to survive, never more.

16. PLAINS HOUSING The Plains Natives were Nomads, people who wander or migrate. The natives had to migrate to follow the buffalo. Therefore these tribes needed shelter that was easy to pack up and put together. Plains Natives lived in teepees made of buffalo hides held up by wooden poles.  These teepees were warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The door to the teepee was a round opening which faced east toward the rising sun.  In the middle of the teepee, a small fire was built for cooking and warmth.  Plains Indians usually slept on buffalo robes on the teepee's floor.

17. Clothing Plains Natives made all of their own clothes.  Most all of their clothes were made from animal skins.  Antelope and deer were the most often used.  The women were responsible for making clothes for their entire tribe. Men typically wore animal skin leggings, a loin cloth, and a belt.  They rarely wore shirts, instead they wrapped buffalo furs over their shoulders.  These were known as buffalo robes. 

18. A distinguished man, who was known for his bravery, often wore a grizzly bear claw necklace.  A man who was considered to be a distinguished warrior often wore an eagle feather war bonnet.  The number of feathers on the war bonnet related to the number of brave acts performed by each man.

19. Women and girls of the tribes wore dresses made of deerskins.  Women often wore jewelry, such as earrings and bracelets, made of sea shells, metal, or beads. All Plains Indians wore moccasins on their feet.  Women were in charge of making the moccasins for their tribe.  Moccasins were usually made with animal hides and buckskin.  They were decorated with beads and quill work.

20. Food Plains Natives got their food by either hunting it, growing it, or gathering it.  Some tribes grew crops such as maize, beans, and pumpkins.  Others gathered wild fruits and vegetables.  Food was often traded between the different tribes.

21. Plains Art The Plains people were naturally gifted artists.  Most of their artwork was done in the form of painting.  Painting was done on objects such as their teepees, clothes, and on religious objects.

22. The Plains Natives also carved pipes made of either wood or stone.  Some of them were decorated with beautiful designs. The rock-carving, painting, and pipe making were mostly done by the men of the tribes. .

23. The women were skilled at doing beadwork, quill work, needle work, and clothing design QUILLWORK (a form of embroidery) Quills were used to decorate clothing, moccasins, bags, and baskets. Only certain women were trained to collect and decorate with quills. They got the quills by throwing a blanket over a porcupine and then picked the quills out of the blanket. Different sizes of quills were used for different types of embroidery. The quills were dyed different colors. The quills were flattened then sewn to make designs.

24. PLAINS RELIGION The Plains Natives believed in many gods. They believed the gods showed themselves in the form of the sun, moon, stars, and anything that was strong or strange, such as an animal, person, or even an odd-shaped stone. The Plains tribes believed in underwater spirits who controlled all animals and plants.  Above the sky, they believed their was an upper world ruled by the Thunderbirds.  The Thunderbirds were the most powerful of the spirits.

25. Plains Natives believed that particular men were chosen to see the power of the gods through visions. To receive a vision the man had to go to a lonely place. He would stay there for several days without food or water. During this time the vision was "seen" by the man. Men who became known for receiving many visions became known as medicine men. These men were said to be able to see the future and cure diseases.

26. Powwows were one of the Plains ceremonies. A powwow was a celebration or prayer to the Great Spirit. An important Plains ceremony was called the Sun Dance. The Sun Dance took place in the summer months. It was a ceremony of celebration. The Sun Dance lasted around four days. During this time dancers performed the same exact movements and had nothing to eat or drink. They lifted their eyes to the sun for as long as they could endure it.

27. Another important dance was the Ghost Dance. This was a dance performed nightly in which the Indians believed that they could speak to the gods and their ancestors. They also believed that this dance would help get their land back.

28. Sitting Bull was one of the most famous Chiefs of the Plains Culture. He was a Sioux leader in the area that is now known as South Dakota. He lived from l83l-l890. During this time gold was discovered on the land that Sitting Bull's tribe lived on. The government tried to force the Sioux Indians to move off their land. Sitting Bull and his tribe would not peacefully move. In June, l876, a major battle occurred between Sitting Bull and U.S. soldiers led by George Custer. This became known as the Battle of Little Bighorn.

29. What did you learn? 1.  The Plains Natives lived in the area of our country known as the _________________. 2.  What was the most important natural resource of the Plains tribes?   3.  What type of housing did the Plains tribes use?  4.  What was the clothing of the Plains tribes made from? 5.  What did the Plains people eat?6.  What type of art or craft did the tribes create?  7. What type of ceremony did the Plains tribes practice? 8.  Who was one of the most famous Chiefs of the Plains Tribes? Why?

30. Eastern Woodland Natives

31. The Eastern Woodland tribes lived in the area that is green. This is East of the Great Plains. The tribes included the Chickasaw, Cherokee, Wampanoag, and Iroquois.

32. The woodlands of the northeast part of the United States is a land of rivers, streams, lakes, and, most of all, trees and plants. The weather isn't too harsh. The summers are hot and humid, and winters are cold and snowy. There is a lot of rain so plants grow well. Where there are many plants, there are many animals. The Woodland Indians did not have any trouble finding and growing food.

33. The Woodland people depended upon the forest and land around them as the natural resources to use for shelter, clothing, and food.

34. Woodland Housing The Woodland tribes lived in villages of wigwams and longhouses near a lake or stream.Wigwams were made by bending young trees to form the round shape of the home. Over this shape pieces of tree bark were overlapped to protect the Indians from bad weather. Over the bark a layer of thatch, or dried grass, was added. A small hole from the top allowed smoke from the fires to escape. Beds were matting covered with animal skin.

35. Longhouses were long rectangular homes. Longhouses were made by building a frame from saplings, or young trees. They were then covered with bark sewn together. There was a long hallway with rooms on both sides. Sleeping platforms, covered with deerskin, lined each wall. There were also shelves for storing baskets, pots, and pelts. Pelts are the skins of animals with the fur attached. Several families would live in the long house, but the families were related to each other.

36. Clothing Some of the Woodland tribes used pelts of animals for their clothing. In the winter, the men wore shirts, leggings, and moccasins made of buckskin. Buckskin is clothing made from the skins of animals, mainly deer. The women wore skirts they had woven from the wild grasses, covered with furs, with leggings underneath.. In the summer, the men wore a breechcloth, a short piece of buckskin that hung from the front to the back of the Indian. The women wore their grass dresses, and the children wore nothing at all.

37. In the Cherokee tribe, women wore skirts woven from plants. The men wore breechcloths or leggings. The men would paint their skin and decorate it with tattoos. The women would sew feathers into light capes made of netting.

38. Food Living in the woods meant there were plenty of resources, including food. Woodland tribes were hunters and gatherers. They hunted bear, moose and bison, and were effective fishermen. They also ate beavers, raccoons, rabbits, corn, beans and berries. Woodland Indians grew squash, pumpkins and melons.The Iroquois used a bow and arrow to hunt. They would sometimes wear the skin of a deer over their body to sneak up to the deer. The Iroquois also used traps for small animals. A canoe made from a hallowed out tree was used to fish in the lakes and streams nearby. Nets and traps were also used to catch fish.

39. Woodland Religion When someone in a Woodland tribe died, the tribe would hold a cry ceremony. The chief sang and danced around the fire. This ceremony lasted for five days. The day before it started, five knots were tied in a piece of milkweed. Every day of the ceremony, they would untie a knot. a knot.

40. Face paint was a big deal to Woodland Indians. They wore it to express feelings each color meant something: red = life, black = death or eternal grief and purple = royalty) and for special occasions. Before going to war, they painted themselves, performed magical rites and took special medicines. Several of the tribes performed many songs and rites. They used special equipment that they thought helped them talk to their gods. They also wore masks to cure diseases. The scary masks were supposed to scare the evil spirit out of the sick person.

41. Woodland Art Very important to this culture was wampum. Wampum belts and necklaces were made from wampum beads. These beads were actually white and purple shells. Wampum was used as money between white man and Indians. Wampum belts were used as a form of communication between Indian tribes. Wampum belts would be made into pictures showing the reason it was made. All Indian messengers carried wampum belts when going to other tribes.

42. The Cherokee were considered one of the most "civilized" Indian tribes of North America. They had their own government, laws, courts, and schools. A Cherokee Indian named Sequoyah invented a written language called "Talking Leaves". It had 86 characters. Within a few years all of the Cherokees could read and write it.

43. Between 1790 and 1830 the white man began to push westward into the Cherokee territory. The Cherokee fought hard to keep their land. They even took their fight against being removed from their land to court. At first it seemed like they might win. But they were forced to leave the land they loved.

44. IN ONE of the saddest stories in our history, thousands of men, women, and children were forced off of the land they loved and moved into crowded forts with very little food. They were then forced to walk over a thousand miles to what is now Arkansas. It was an unusually cold winter. Many of the Indians were barefoot with little clothing. They were forced to walk through snow and ice. They ate only what they could find along the way. Many Indians died along the way, especially older Indians and children. Their bloody footprints left trails of blood in the snow. They cried as they went because they were leaving the land they loved, the land they had called home for so many years. This horribly long, sad journey of the Cherokee has become known in history as "The Trail of Tears".

45. What did you learn? 1.  Where did the Woodland tribes get their nations name?_________________. 2.  What was the most important natural resource of the Woodland tribes?   3.  What type of housing did the Woodland tribes use?  4.  What was the clothing of the Woodland tribes made from? 5.  What did the Woodland people eat? 6.  What type of art or craft did the tribes create?  7. What type of ceremony did the Woodland tribes practice? 8.  Who was one of the most famous Chiefs of the Plains Tribes? Why?